The
Assyrian Tree of Life
.
Figure1 (above) Reconstruction of the bas-relief
by H. Lewakowa for J. Meuszynski's publication of the
throne room (Room B; the bas-relief is in position
B-13) of the NW Palace of the King Ashurnasirpal II at
Nimrud. The bas-relief depicts the king and a divine
attendant at a royal ritual before the "sacred tree"
surmounted by a God in a winged disk.
Figure 2 H. Lewakowa's drawing of the
bas-relief in position 9 in Room I. I-9: After Paley
and Sobolewski 1987, plate 1:3.
"The Tree of Life was a
Babylonian concept, and as represented in carvings
it does not look particularly like a tree at all.
It was shown as a series of
leafy rosettes, arranged and construction in a
strange [lattice] pattern...To the
Babylonians, it was a tree with magical fruit,
which could only be picked by the gods. Dire
consequences befell any mortal who dared to pluck
from it. The tree found its way into the Hebrew
legend of Adam and Eve...which is heavily loaded
with allusions of the Ancient of Days. Recent
works on the Kabbalah make extensive use of this
tree. Ten parts or attributes of the Ancient of
Days are identified with ten of the rosettes..."
- George Sassoon and
Rodney Dale, The Manna Machine
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